Since our December Pulse Survey, the Code Manager has carried out various activities in response to your feedback on the service. The main areas that industry highlighted as needing some refinement were the EMAR and Data Specification, engagement around your Performance Assurance obligations, the REC Portal and the REC Change process.
We know the REC Change process has not been optimal for stakeholders and some parties feel their opportunity for engagement has been limited, especially in comparison to other industry codes. The creation of the REC provided the opportunity to build the process from the ground up as a suitably efficient, agile process with a digital underpinning.
We recognise that alongside that, stakeholder inclusion and transparency are highly valued by the industry and in the coming weeks you will notice new opportunities to engage with REC change alongside added communications which help shine a light on the various parts of the change process and the decisions which flow from them.
In other areas of the service, the Code Manager has listened to your feedback and increased engagement including workshops to provide the opportunity for industry peers to come together in open forum and express their views directly. Continuous Improvement is embedded in the design of the REC Code Manager role and the summary below picks out the key changes which have been made as a result of your feedback:
Part of RECCo's mission is to facilitate the efficient and effective running of the retail energy market. To achieve this, we need to better understand the problem areas to be proactive in supporting industry to resolve issues. We are looking into ways in which we can support REC Parties to initially identify areas that could alleviate cost to serve pressures and/or help alleviate those pinch points which result in poor consumer outcomes.
We are looking to understand what issues REC Parties face and/or ideas which RECCo should focus on in facilitating improvements under the REC as part of delivering its Strategy and Forward Work Plan.
If you would like to get involved, please contact jenny.smith@retailenergycode.co.uk or your OAM.
We are constantly striving to improve the quality of our services to give our stakeholders the experiences they rightly expect. If you have any feedback on the Code Manager Service please speak to your dedicated Operational Account Manager (OAM) or email enquiries@recmanager.co.uk.
The EES allows parties to access electricity data to support key REC processes, including customer switching. The service is being enhanced for REC V3. This includes receiving data from the CSS, in addition to the data it currently receives from the Metering Point Registration System.
This new data includes the Retail Energy Location (REL) Address, which Suppliers will be required to check prior to submitting a switch request. RECCo is working with the EES Provider (C&C Group) to enhance the EES in line with the Switching Programme and this project is on track.
During April, RECCo and the EES Service Provider supported two seminars to help parties understand the changes that are being made to the EES (as well as the GES). The seminars also set out how parties can test the new service. Recordings of the seminars and FAQs can be found on the REC Portal.
RECCo and the EES Provider has worked with the programme to address Switching Programme Defect 1288 on the ordering of the REL Address data provided to it. Fixes have been successfully deployed to the production environment that will go live for REC V3.
The EES API Technical Specification has also been updated so that parties that will be using the new API from 18 July can make sure that they understand and carefully consider how they order the REL Address data items received from EES. The Updated EES API Technical Specification can be found on the REC Portal.
If you have any questions on the EES, please contact Andrew Wallace at info@retailenergycode.co.uk.
ETTOS is a REC service operated by Crimestoppers for members of the public to anonymously report suspected theft of gas and electricity, for more information on the service please visit our dedicated webpage.
There was a decrease in the number of ETTOS reports raised over the last reporting period, with 733 reports issued to suppliers in March 2022 compared with 830 reports issued in February. We believe the number of conversions from calls to reports have decreased due to the increased number of calls from consumers who called the tip-off line to query their energy bills with rising energy costs, as opposed to having a suspected tip-off to report.
The Stay Energy Safe webpage which is used to promote the anonymous tip off service, raise awareness for the dangers surrounding energy theft and provide guidance, has continued to create articles to assist the public.
In March, an article on How to save Money on your Energy Bills was published ahead of the price cap. In April, information on energy grants has also gone live, and a piece outlining advice on clearing your energy debt, will be going live in the coming weeks.
In last month’s newsletter we updated you on the useful discussions that took place at the Energy Theft Calculator workshop on 8th March.
The aim of the session was to understand from stakeholders how the current tool was functioning and how it could be best adapted to support evolving industry needs.
Following on from the session, the Energy Saving Trust, who are the responsible service provider for maintaining the tool under the REC, would like users’ feedback on two
possible improvements to the tools:
A survey is now live and we would appreciate any feedback by 16th May 2022. If you have questions on the survey, please contact theftcalcsupport@est.org.uk.
If you have any questions on either of our energy theft services please contact Aiyesha at info@retailenergycode.co.uk.
